


Breathe

by DulcieFlorbelle



Series: Endings and Beginnings [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Emotional Hurt, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Moving On, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 09:11:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4342655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DulcieFlorbelle/pseuds/DulcieFlorbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>F!LW meets a new friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathe

It had been a few months since she had buried her best friend. Her confidante, companion, and fellow warrior of the wastes. There wasn’t a day that she didn’t miss him, or hate herself for what happened. 

It was difficult to be present at times, to remember that while her world stopped everyone else’s kept going. 

If it wasn’t for Charon she would have completely given up long ago. It was odd, he had no obligation to her, no contract bound him anymore. And yet he stayed. 

He didn’t say much, but he expressed his concern in other ways. The ghoul was always there to force her from her bed when all she wanted to do was disappear forever. He cooked meals for the both of them, glared at her until she had eaten enough. He would stay up with her, when she was too anxious to sleep. The ruthless bodyguard had turned out to be incredibly kind. 

She had no idea why he cared so much, but she was grateful in a way she would never be able to express. 

Little by little, things became more bearable. _Life_ became more bearable. 

Charon had been acting sort of strange lately. He was even less talkative, if that was even possible. And he seemed to be rushing her to their destination for a reason unknown to her. They were heading back to her modest house in Megaton, nothing special or at all urgent.

Once inside, he put his hand gently over her eyes. She startled, not because of him, but she was always paranoid. 

“Got something for you. Keep your eyes shut.” He said in that gruff tone of his, removing his hand when she nodded. 

She shifted awkwardly in place, hearing him walk away and up the stairs, opening a door. 

The sound of nails clicking on the floor erased any mystery there was. 

Her hand flew to her mouth in surprise as she opened her eyes, watching as a puppy bounded down the stairs. She knelt to greet it as it jumped at her face, licking at tears she didn’t recall shedding. It was a scrawny thing. Dirtied and not used to being loved. The puppy had different colored eyes, one a warm brown and the other a shocking blue. It whined happily as she fretted over it, laughing and crying, hugging the tiny creature close to her. 

Charon watched this cheerful meeting, his semblance of lips quirked into a soft smile. 

He had waited for what he thought a respectable time before searching for a dog. This puppy wasn’t meant to be a replacement and he didn’t want her to think that was what he was trying to do. It was unsurprisingly difficult to find a tame dog in the wastes, and for this one he had to fork over an impressive amount of caps. The raiders that had kept it were planning to eat it, but that wasn’t something he would ever share with her. The eye thing was a complete coincidence, albeit a happy one. 

“It’s a girl.” 

“She’s beautiful,” The young woman beamed, looking up at Charon as the dog settled against her chest. 

“What’re you gonna call her?” He asked. 

“Hm. I’m not that great with names..” She confessed, rubbing the puppy’s velvety soft ears. “How about Blue? On account of that pretty eye she’s got.” 

“Blue’s a good name.” Charon concurred, moving close to them and leaning down, offering a hand for the puppy to sniff. 

The dog seemed shy at first, then gave the ghoul’s hand a tentative lick. 

“She likes you.” 

“Think so?” Charon asked, not noticing the fond look he was getting as he scratched under the puppy’s chin. 

“For sure,” She smiled as Blue scampered off, eager to explore her surroundings. 

It was Charon’s turn to be surprised as he felt her arms wrap around him, laying her head on his chest. 

“Thank you Charon, for everything you’ve done for me. I really appreciate you- er.. it,” She sighed contentedly, going up on her tip toes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. 

“No need to thank me, smoothskin,” He tried his best to not show how much that meant to him, and he was very glad she couldn’t see a change in the color of his face. Though he did let her hug him for a bit longer than necessary.. 

For the first in a long time, she wasn’t afraid to fall asleep that night.


End file.
